Of comfort and delight
by socroy
Summary: Eiji's angsting because he thinks he's annoying. Oishi uses this as an excuse to get warm and cosy. Spoilers for 110112


**Of Comfort and Delight** -An image goes to complement this story- please open it once you've finished reading! Find it at

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After watching Eiji and Kabaji's match during training camp, Eiji's behaviour struck me as being quite different to the norm- uptight, easily irritated and insecure. He seems to waver between two extreme moods. My drabble assumes he was irritated with himself, and was intended as some sort of introspective deep thing, but just turned into fluff. Oishi was in too much of a good _seishun da na_ mood. He is _so_ uke. ;) .

_Shatei_ - Japanese mafia slang for 'little bro'

* * *

It was the third night of the camp, and Oishi waited patiently, lying on his stomach under the covers and listening to the peaceful deep breathing of his team mates around him. It was well past 1am, and- finally here it was- Oishi grinned into his pillow as his blankets were partially lifted and another slim, warm body slipped in to lie beside him, and…wait… no? No skinny arms slyly wrapped themselves around his waist, and no little nose tried to settle itself beside his collarbone; Eiji sat resolutely beside him, half under and half on top of the blankets. Wistful eyes sought the stars through the window, and the corner of his pouted lips twitched slightly- all the signs of a rare deep introspection that would have started hours ago. Any second now Eiji would sigh heavily and turn to Oishi.

Eiji sighed heavily and turned to Oishi, and a question was whispered harshly into the darkness-

"Am I really that _annoying_!"

Oishi snorted, and immediately regretted it when Eiji flicked his head to pin him with a fierce gaze.

'See! Even you think so! _Hoi, nya, usu usu usu!_" His nose crinkled in disgust.

"It just… do I really… what's the difference?"

His shoulders slumped and Oishi would have snorted again had his friend not worn such a genuine expression of anxiety.

"I… just… sometimes _forget_, Oishi, I… _nya_… geh, there I go _again!_ I don't _want_ to be like him- well, I'm _not_, but I don't… want…to get under people's _skin_ like that! Do I… am I…maybe I should quiet down a little bit, you know…"

Eiji's wistful features twisted again into a picture of annoyance as he remembered something.

"I called Momo my _shatei!_"

Oishi knew he shouldn't be amused by the outburst- Eiji wasn't prone to self-loathing but he did experience bouts of insecurity that could upset him for days. He did the only thing he could think of and gently pulled the covers over his best friend, wrapped his arms around him, and sought with his nose the same place Eiji loved on him- the small depression beside the collarbone on the left side of the neck.

"Eiji…" He said, and felt through his friend's chest a long exhalation.

"Eiji… I don't know how you can compare yourself to Kabaji…" Oishi couldn't help but grin again, and felt Eiji begin to squirm, ready to interject.

"…but I can imagine what you're thinking. And I think it's stupid. I don't know how you could possibly annoy anybody- you're good at making people relax, and making people smile. "

Oishi closed his eyes- he knew Eiji was once again looking at the stars through the window, but could feel his friends hands tighten on his own.

"He was deliberately trying to unsettle you. I don't think you should worry about it. And I _definitely_ don't think you should change. After all…"

Oishi grinned again and nuzzled Eiji's neck.

"You're very cute…"

He nuzzled Eiji's ear, and felt the muscles in Eiji's cheek twist into a smile.

"And you're very handsome…"

Oishi then froze as another voice cut through the night-

"And you're _very_ good at keeping people from their sleep. I wonder what Tezuka would say if he knew his substitute captain didn't have his mind on the job."

Oishi's body immediately tensed, ready with a stream of apologies, but felt Eiji's arms drape lazily over his back.

"Nyaaah Fuji, he's off-duty now. Besides, Oishi's only following Tezuka's example."

Eiji grinned, proud at silencing Fuji and shocking Oishi, and pulled the covers over the top of their heads.

And _now _Oishi felt slim arms curling around his waist, and a soft nose hunting around his neck, settling for a moment before quiet thanks were murmured into his chest.

"What for?" Oishi whispered softly back.

"For always making me feel good," came the gruff answer, lips moving on Oishi's singlet. "Are we doing doubles tomorrow?"

"Uss."

His punishment of tickles had Oishi desperately trying to stifle uncontrollable giggles for the sake of Fuji Shuusuke, and then a mad scramble for the bigger portion of blanket resulted a most delightful tangle of limbs. For a while they rested entwined like that, letting their breathing quieten until it synchronised with the slow rise and fall of their team mates around them. Oishi delighted in his secret warm haven under the covers, and Eiji in his secret refuge of Oishi, knowing that in the morning they would wake up half an hour before everybody else so that Eiji could skip back over the sprawled bodies into his own cold blankets.

But for now it was delightful, and they brought sleepy mouths together in a goodnight kiss that was altogether too long.

And the room was peaceful, at least until the next morning.


End file.
